Former University of Richmond defensive end Lawrence Sidbury played in his first NFL game Sunday. Sidbury was on two Atlanta Falcons’ special teams and got in for a few defensive plays in a 19-7 victory over the Miami Dolphins. Sidbury, from Cheltenham, Md., was the Falcons’ fourth-round choice in the 2009 NFL Draft. He had 11.5 sacks last season for the Spiders’ team that captured the Football Championship Subdivision title.

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga.—Lawrence Sidbury says he wants to learn how to be a great NFL pass rusher. Atlanta Falcons coach Mike Smith says the rookie defensive end is picking the right mentor to help him reach that goal. “The thing that I’ve been most impressed with Lawrence is he has gotten into the hip pocket of John Abraham and tried to stay with John as much as he can to try to learn from a great pass rusher in this league for a long, long time,“ Smith said.

Lawrence Sidbury went to the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth round of the 2009 NFL draft Sunday.

Is University of Richmond defensive end Lawrence Sidbury the finest non-Division I-A prospect in this weekend’s NFL draft? Mel Kiper, Jr., the Deity of Draftniks, believes that may be the case. Kiper projects Sidbury, who collected 11½ sacks for the Spiders’ 2008 Football Championship Subdivision title team, as a second-round pick in this weekend’s NFL draft.

It was fitting. With Montana trailing 24-7 and facing a fourth-and-7 late in the fourth quarter, Grizzlies quarterback Cole Bergquist stepped up in a collapsing pocket and attempted to force a first-down pass into traffic. The ball never crossed the line of scrimmage.